Ch. 12: Congress In Action (Magruder's American Government)

Front 1

speaker of the house

Back 1

the leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives

Front 2

president of the senate

Back 2

the presiding officer of a senate; in Congress, the Vice President of the United States

Front 3

president pro tempore

Back 3

the Senate member, elected by the Senate, who stands in as president of the Senate in the absence of the vice president

Front 4

party caucus or conference

Back 4

a meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the Republicans

Front 5

floor leader

Back 5

the legislator who organizes his party's strategy

Front 6

whip

Back 6

assistant floor leaders responsible for counting votes and “whipping” party members into line

Front 7

committee chairman

Back 7

Member who heads a standing committee in a legislative body.

Front 8

seniority rule

Back 8

A legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.

Front 9

standing committee

Back 9

a permanent committee in Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues

Front 10

select committee

Back 10

a parliamentary committee appointed for some special purpose

Front 11

joint committee

Back 11

A committee of the House and the Senate that usually acts as a study group and reports its findings back to the House and the Senate

Front 12

conference committee

Back 12

temporary joint committee created to reconcile any differences between the two houses' versions of a bill

Front 13

bill

Back 13

a proposed law; a statute in draft before it becomes law

Front 14

joint resolution

Back 14

A resolution that is passed by both houses of Congress

Front 15

concurrent resolution

Back 15

An expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the President.

Front 16

resolution

Back 16

deal with matters concerning either house alone and re taken up only by that house; regularly used for things like the adoption of a new rule; is NOT submitted to the president for his signature and does NOT have the force of law

Front 17

rider

Back 17

an unrelated provision unlikely to pass on its own which is attached or piggybacked onto an important bill certain to pass so that it will “ride” on through

Front 18

discharge petition

Back 18

Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.

Front 19

subcommittee

Back 19

a subset of committee members organized for a specific purpose

Front 20

markup

Back 20

process of reviewing and changing a bill in committee or subcommittee

Front 21

pigeonhole

Back 21

occurs when a committee refuses to report a bill out of committee

Front 22

committee actions

Back 22

(1) report the bill favorably with a “do pass” recommendation, ( 2) refuse to report out the bill (pigeonhole it), (3) report out the bill in amended form, (4) report out the bill with an unfavorable “do NOT pass” recommendation, or (5) report out a committee bill which is entirely new

Front 23

private bill

Back 23

deals with a matter of concern to a single individual rather than the public at large

Front 24

House Rules Committee

Back 24

powerful committee which must grant a rule for debate before a bill can reach the floor of the House; acts as a “traffic cop” to deal with large size and heavy workload of the House; has no counterpart in the Senate

Front 25

Privileged bill

Back 25

a bill taken up for debate out of calendar order; usually really important bills like appropriations (spending) and revenue (tax) bills are privileged

Front 26

Committee of the Whole

Back 26

a device in which a legislative body is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee

Front 27

quorum

Back 27

a gathering of the minimal number of members of an organization to conduct business

Front 28

218

Back 28

number of members required for a quorum in the House

Front 29

voting

Back 29

congressional voting is done by swiping a plastic card and pushing one of three buttons – yea, nay, or present

Front 30

engrossed

Back 30

printed in its final form, as a deed or other legal document

Front 31

previous question

Back 31

motion made by member who wants to "cut to the chase," end debate, and vote on the bill or amendment

Front 32

filibuster

Back 32

a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches

Front 33

cloture

Back 33

a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body; if 16 Senators sign a petition a vote is held; if 3/5 (60) vote to end the filibuster, it’s over

Front 34

conference committee

Back 34

joint committee convened to “iron out” differences in a bill as passed by the House and the Senate

Front 35

veto

Back 35

presidential “no” to a bill

Front 36

pocket veto

Back 36

indirect veto of legislation by refusing to sign it

Front 37

presidential actions on a bill

Back 37

(1) sign it and it becomes a law, (2) veto it, subject to override by 2/3 vote in each House, (3) leave it alone and it beomes a law without the president’s signature in ten business days if Congress is still in session, or (4) pocket veto it: leave it alone and it fails if Congress adjourns within ten days of submission

Front 38

34

Back 38

number of senators necessary to stop a veto override

Front 39

hold

Back 39

a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill/nomination is brought to the floor. This request signals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill (or nomination) and should be consulted before further action is taken

Front 40

logrolling

Back 40

vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support

Front 41

table "

Back 41

kill" a bill in committee

Front 42

junket

Back 42

trip taken at public expense; insight inspection for oversight or investigating possible legislation

Front 43

"poison pill"

Back 43

an amendment distasteful to the majority in support of a bill added to the bill for the express purpose of failing the bill

Front 44

an act

Back 44

once a bill is passed by either house, it becomes this

Front 45

staff

Back 45

powerful group, sort of "shadow government" who often actually write bills that their bosses introduce and read, research, explain, and recommend votes on other legislation

Front 46

access

Back 46

what members of Congress say campaign contributions buy contributors